Fishery Statistics Summary 2017

From 2013 to 2017, the worldwide trend of fishery production from both capture fisheries and aquaculture (Table 1) had been steadily increasing at an average rate of 4.2 million MT per year or about 2.2% annually. Countries from Asia are among the major fish producers, contributing about 52.0% to the total fishery production during the past 5 years. In the Southeast Asian region, fishery production increased from 40.4 million MT in 2013 to 45.5 million MT in 2017 with an annual average rate of increase of 1.27 million MT or 3.2%, where the region’s total contribution to the world’s total fishery production in 2017 was approximately 22.1%. Such feat had been achieved because of the intensified efforts of the governments of the Southeast Asian countries to promote responsible fishing practices and sustainable management of the fisheries sector, and the countries’ adherence to the new paradigm of change in fisheries management which gears towards sustainability.

Table 1. Fishery production by continent from 2013 to 2017 (million MT)*

	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
World	188.9	193.4	199.2	202.2	205.5
Africa	10.1	10.5	10.8	11.4	11.9
America	22.4	20.8	21.3	20.0	21.4
Asia**	100.3	103.7	104.7	106.9	106.9
Southeast Asia***	40.1	42.1	44.0	45.3	45.5
Europe	16.5	16.9	17.3	16.9	18.1
Oceania	1.4	1.5	1.6	1.7	1.7

* Source (except for Southeast Asia): FAO FishStat Plus-Universal Software for Fishery Statistical Time Series
** Excludes Southeast Asia
*** Source: Fishery Statistical Bulletin of Southeast Asia (SEAFDEC, 2020)

Table 2 shows that the fishery production of Southeast Asia from 2013 to 2017, which exhibited a continuously increasing trend especially in terms of quantity although the increases in terms of value were quite unstable. The annual average increase in quantity from 2013 to 2017 was 3.2%, while the annual average rate of increase of the value was about 5.5%. However, some countries were not able to provide the value of their respective fishery production for 2017, for example Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. Nevertheless, the figures still imply that in addition to the increasing quantity, most of the fishery commodities harvested in the region were of high value. By country, Indonesia reported the highest fishery production in 2017 in terms of quantity accounting for about 50.2% of the total fishery production of Southeast Asia, followed by Viet Nam contributing about 16.0% and Myanmar at 12.5%. The Philippines ranked next accounting for 9.5%, Thailand at 5.2%, Malaysia at 4.2%, and Cambodia at 1.9%. The contributions of Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore to the fishery production of Southeast Asia in 2017, were minimal in terms of quantity.

In terms of value, Indonesia accounted for about 55.8% of the total value of the region’s fishery production with Myanmar emerging second contributing about 18.5%, and Thailand came in third contributing about 9.3%. Meanwhile, the Philippines ranked fourth in terms of quantity and value, contributing about 9.0%, and Malaysia which ranked fifth in terms of production quantity as well as value accounted for 7.1%. The trend of the fishery production of the Southeast Asian countries in 2013-2017 is shown in Fig. 1. The drastic drop in the value of fishery production of Viet Nam may not have been due to very low or no value, but because of the inability of the country to provide the necessary information on time.

Table 2. Total fishery production of Southeast Asia by quantity and value (2013-2017)

Fishery Production	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Quantity (MT)	40,150,808	42,117,647	43,998,242	45,336,312	45,496,587
Value (US$ 1,000)	41,892,690*	42,722,414**	38,746,241*	40,973,100*	50,564,226*

* Data not available from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam
** Data not available from Cambodia and Viet Nam

Fig. 1 Fishery production of the Southeast Asian countries in 2013-2017 (left in quantity; right in value)

The fishery production of Southeast Asia comes from three sub-sectors, namely: marine capture fisheries, inland capture fisheries, and aquaculture. By sub-sector, the total fishery production of the region in 2017 as shown in Table 3 indicates that the largest portion of the production volume was derived from aquaculture accounting for approximately 54.8% followed by marine capture fisheries at about 38.1% and inland capture fisheries at 7.1%. In terms of production value, the trend was quite different as marine capture fisheries accounted for 50.0%, aquaculture at 42.0%, and inland capture fisheries at 8.0% (Fig. 2). While the value per quantity of marine capture fishery products was about US$ 1,807/MT, those from inland capture fisheries and aquaculture were about US$ 1,661/MT and US$ 1,025/MT, respectively. This implies that the global market had started to recognize the value of aquatic products harvested through inland capture fisheries, and had been lately patronizing such products.

Table 3. Fishery production (quantity and value) of Southeast Asia in 2017

Sub-sector	Quantity (MT)	Value* (US$ 1,000)	Value/Quantity** (US$/MT)
Marine capture fisheries	17,330,277	25,292,021	1,807
Inland capture fisheries	3,226,154	4,018,366	1,661
Aquaculture	24,940,156	21,253,839	1,025
Total	45,496,587	50,564,226

* Data not available from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam
** Computation of price excludes corresponding quantity production from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam

Fig. 2 Percentage of the sub-sectors’ contribution to Southeast Asia’s fishery production in 2017 (left in quantity; right in value)

The region’s production from marine capture fisheries in 2013-2017 had been generally increasing as shown in Table 4. However, in terms of quantity, the annual average increase was only minimal at about 2.7%. While the production value in 2016 had increased by 2.4% compared with that of 2015, but a drop in value from 2014 to 2015 by about 11.2% was recorded which could have been influenced by the steep dive of the production value of Malaysia and Thailand. The increases in the total production values from 2015 to 2016 had been very minimal, which could have been due to the unavailability of data in terms of production values, from Viet Nam and Cambodia.

Table 4. Marine capture fishery production of Southeast Asia by quantity and value (2013-2017)

Marine capture fishery production	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Quantity (MT)	16,137,163	16,853,626	16,762,392	17,027,312	17,330,277
Value (US$ 1,000)	20,585,615*	21,654,307*	19,481,510*	19,939,678*	25,292,021*

* Data not available from Cambodia and Viet Nam

In terms of quantity, the total production from marine capture fisheries of the Southeast Asian countries during 2013-2017 indicated that Indonesia contributed the highest production to the region’s total. Specifically in 2017, Indonesia’s production was 6.27 million MT accounting for approximately 36.2% of the region’s total, followed by Viet Nam, Myanmar, and Philippines at 3.21 million MT (18.5%), 3.04 million MT (17.5%), and 1.91 million MT (11.03%), respectively. Malaysia and Thailand had also produced considerable amount of aquatic commodities from marine capture fisheries at 1.46 million MT (8.45%) and 1.30 million MT (7.5%), respectively. A picture of the region’s production quantity from marine capture fisheries in 2017 could be gleaned from Fig. 3.

Fig. 3. Marine capture fishery production of Southeast Asia in 2017

Although some Southeast Asian countries were not able to provide the value of their production from marine capture fisheries, the trend of the total value of the region’s marine capture fishery production from 2013 to 2017 seemed to have increased corresponding to the increasing trend of the region’s production quantity. By country, Indonesia which led the Southeast Asian countries, accounted for about 52.2% of the region’s marine capture fishery production value in 2017, with Myanmar emerging second contributing about 20.4%. Meanwhile, Malaysia which came in third in terms of value contributed about 11.0%, the Philippines came in fourth at 9.4%, and lastly, Thailand contributed about 6.8%.

Aggregating the 2017 production quantity from marine capture fisheries by major commodity groups, marine fishes provided the highest quantity (Table 5) accounting for about 85.9% followed by molluscs at 4.8% while the crustaceans, invertebrates and seaweeds contributed 4.1%, 0.5%, and 0.3%, respectively. It should be noted that 4.4% was contributed by other commodity groups which could not be appropriately classified as some countries e.g. Viet Nam, were not able to provide their respective production quantity by species. In 2017, the production quantity of invertebrates had slightly decreased from that of 2016 by about 12.3%, but the production quantity of molluscs, seaweeds, crustaceans, and marine fishes had increased by about 53.6%, 14.0%, 1.4% and 1.0%, respectively, compared with the corresponding quantity in 2016.

Table 5. Production of the major commodity groups from marine capture fishery in Southeast Asia (in MT)

Commodity Group	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Marine fishes	14,032,382	14,624,488	14,310,199	14,726,719	14,880,726
Crustaceans	656,362	627,640	636,342	708,248	718,355
Mollusks	532,871	548,348	532,192	540,958	830,724
Seaweed	…	…	78,230	41,457	47,271
Invertebrates	…	118,016	2,609	105,886	92,901
Others	915,548	935,134	1,202,820	904,044	760,300
Total marine capture fishery production (MT)	16,152,674	16,655,092	16,762,392	17,027,312	17,330,277

Comparing the quantity of the total fishery production in 2017 with that of 2016, an increase in production of the marine fishes was obvious, which could have been influenced by various factors that include: Indonesia’s increased production of various major commodities such as skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) from fishing area 57 and 71 , as well as yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), scads nei (Decapterus spp.), and production of crustaceans; the Philippines’s production of major marine fishes that also increased considerably, especially skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) from fishing area 71; and Thailand’s increased production of Carangidae from fishing area 57 and 71.

Moreover, the region’s production of major species such as the Rastrelliger spp. decreased in 2017 compared with that of 2016 which could have been influenced by decreased production of Malaysia and Thailand; Perna viridis (green mussel) production also decreased in 2017 compared with that of 2016, which could have been influenced by decreased production of Malaysia. Meanwhile, production of Portunus pelagicus (blue swimming crab) in 2017 had increased compared with that of 2017, which could have been brought about by Indonesia’s increased production of the crab from fishing areas 57 and 71.

1 Fishing area 71 covers the marine fishing areas of Thailand (Gulf of Thailand), Cambodia, Viet Nam (Southwest and Southwest), Malaysia (East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak), Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao), and Indonesia (East Sumatra, North Java, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, South-West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Maluku-Papua)
2 Fishing area 57 covers the marine fishing areas of Myanmar, Thailand (Indian Ocean), Malaysia (West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia), and Indonesia (Malacca Strait, West Sumatra and South Java, Bali-Nusa Tenggara)

The economically-important marine species that provided sizeable contribution to the total fishery production of Southeast Asia from marine capture fisheries (by quantity and value) in 2017 are shown in Table 6. The data indicate that miscellaneous marine fishes (unidentified) contributed the highest quantity at about 37.11% and value at about 21.68%. Production from the tunas group contributed about 10.06% to the total production quantity and ranked the second highest, although it was ranked the highest in terms of value accounting for about 4.17% of the total production value. In terms of production value, tunas group had decreased in 2017 compared with that of 2016 due to the missing corresponding production value by species from Indonesia.

Table 6. Economically-important marine species caught in the region in 2017

Group/species	Quantity (MT)	Percentage of total quantity of marine capture fishery production (%)	Value (US$1,000)*	Percentage of total value of marine capture fishery production (%)	Prices (US$/MT)
Tunas Frigate tuna Bullet tuna Kawakawa Skipjack tuna Longtail tuna Albacore tuna Southern bluefin tuna Yellowfin tuna Bigeye tuna	1,743,103 135,387 13,801 275,959 718,085 168,062 8,470 835 287,409 135,095	10.06	1,055,884 172,480 … 121,225 325,626 107,712 4,002 … 237,865 86,974	4.17	1,579 1,379 … 1,383 1,299 1,614 2,713 … 2,192 3,039
Scads Bigeye scad Yellowstripe scad Torpedo scad Other scads	1,116,244 204,124 175,429 86,619 650,072	6.44	753,239 236,021 21,326 89,443 406,446	2.98	1,254 1,248 1,535 1,223 1,252
Mackerels Scomber mackerels Indian mackerels Seerfishes	1,013,046 3,730 738,914 270,402	5.85	376,942 … 224,340 152,602	1.49	1,117 … 760 3,711
Anchovies Stolephorus anchovies Other anchovies	494,907 374,098 120,809	2.86	178,962 119,637 59,325	0.71	884 1,469 491
Crustaceans	1,036,753	5.98	955,610	3.78	3,576
Mollusks	512,326	2.96	763,544	3.02	2,953
Marine fishes unidentified	6,431,870	37.11	5,483,712	21.68	1,465

* Data not available from Cambodia, Indonesia and Viet Nam
** Computation of price excludes corresponding quantity production from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Viet Nam

The data in Table 6 also suggest that the production price (value/quantity) of seerfishes group is valued the highest among the commodities harvested through marine capture fisheries at US$ 3,711/MT followed by crustaceans group at US$ 3,576/MT, then bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) at US$ 3,039/MT; molluscs group at US$ 2,953/MT; albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) at US$ 2,713/MT; yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) at US$ 2,192/MT; longtail tuna (Thunnus tonggol) at US$ 1,614/MT; yellowstripe scad (Selaroides leptolepis) at US$ 1,535/MT; Stolephorus anchovies nei (Stolephorus spp.) at US$ 1,469/MT; miscellaneous marine fishes (unidentified) at US$ 1,465/MT; kawakawa (Euthynnus affinis) at US$ 1,383/MT; frigate tuna (Auxis thazard), at US$ 1,379/MT; skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) at US$ 1,299/MT; scads group at US$ 1,252MT; bigeye scad (Selar crumenophthalmus) at US$ 1,248/MT; Torpedo scad (Megalaspis cordyla) at US$ 1,223/MT; Indian mackerels group at US$ 760/MT; and other anchovies at US$ 491/MT.

Southeast Asia’s production from inland capture fisheries in 2013-2017 had generally increased and its growth during the same period had been remarkable. The region’s total production from inland capture fisheries in 2017 was 3,226,154 MT accounting for approximately 15.7% of the region’s total production from capture fisheries or 7.1% of the region’s total fishery production. It should be recognized however that the compilation and reporting of production data from inland capture fisheries had been particularly limited and need to be improved. Thus, the data so far reported could be insufficient in terms of species composition. It should also be considered that in the real situation, the catch of rural community members comprising the main users of the inland resources, is consumed locally and is usually not reported in local or national statistics. Accordingly, the data on the total catch from inland capture fisheries in this publication could be considered as indicative only.

While countries reported their respective data on production from inland capture fisheries during 2013- 2017, only five countries reported their corresponding production values. At any rate, as the consistent top producer, Myanmar maintains a stable inland fishery production from 2013 to 2017 that accounted for 34.4% of the country’s total production from capture fisheries, 28.0% of the country’s total fishery production, and 3.5% of the region’s total fishery production (Table 7).

Table 7. Contribution of Southeast Asian countries’ inland capture fisheries to the region’s total fishery production in 2017

Country	Inland capture production (MT)	Total capture production (MT)	% of inland capture production to total capture production	Total fishery production (MT)	% of inland capture fishery production to total fishery production
Brunei Darussalam	…	13,795	…	15,427	…
Cambodia	528,493	649,518	81.4	857,018	61.7
Indonesia	461,531	3,735,640	6.9	22,850,630	2.0
Lao PDR	70,900	70,900	100	180,777	39.2
Malaysia	5,177	1,470,294	0.35	1,897,258	0.3
Myanmar	1,590,360	4,626,500	34.4	5,675,462	28.0
Philippines	163,870	2,074,876	7.9	4,312,663	3.8
Singapore	…	1,098	…	6,989	…
Thailand	192,623	1,493,044	12.9	2,386,916	8.1
Viet Nam	207,200	3,420,500	6.1	7,313,400	2.8
Total	3,226,154	20,556,435	15.89	45,496,540	7.1

The second highest producer, Cambodia reported a production quantity of 528,493 MT in 2017 that represented 81.4% of the country’s production from capture fisheries, 61.7% of the country’s total fishery production, and 1.2% of the region’s total fishery production. However, such production quantity could not be confirmed as accurate considering that the country needs to improve its systems of collecting and compiling the fishery statistics, especially with regards to the production from inland capture fisheries.

Only four countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, had provided their respective production data from inland capture fisheries by species, while the other countries, i.e. Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malysia, Maynmar, and Viet Nam, were not able to report due to inadequacy of expertise in identifying the catch by species. Capacity building in this aspect is therefore necessary to enable the countries to compile their respective inland fishery production by major groups of species. However, it could be noted tha the production of Indonesia as the region’s third highest producer was made up mainly of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) which accounted for about 14.9% of the country’s total production from inland capture fisheries.

Next to miscellaneous fishes which provided the highest production from inland capture fisheries accounting for 71.6% of the region’s total inland fishery production in 2017 (Table 8), production of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was the second highest at 2.8% followed by freshwater mollucks nei at 2.6%, striped snakehead (Channa striata) at 1.9%, and silver barb (Barbonymus gonionotus) at 1.4%. Although the current reported production of the giant river prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) was relatively low at 23,995 MT, its value per quantity of production was the highest at US$ 4,494/MT followed by glass catfishes at US$ 3,096/MT, Pangasius djambal at US$ 2,802/MT, and striped snakehead at US$ 2,038/MT.

Table 8. Production of major inland fisheries species in Southeast Asia in 2017

Common name	Quantity (MT)	Percentage total quantity of major inland species to total inland capture production (%)	Value (US$ 1,000)*	Percentage total value of major inland species to total inland capture production (%)	Price (US$/MT)**
Misc. fishes	2,309,311	71.6	2,647,763	65.9	1,547
Nile tilapia	89,540	2.8	141,196	3.5	1,577
Freshwater mollusks nei	84,728	2.6	12,549	0.3	148
Striped snakehead	59,904	1.9	122,110	3.0	2,038
Silver barb	45,898	1.4	56,241	1.4	1,225
Tilapias nei	43,240	1.3	50,142	1.2	1,160
Asian redtail catfish	41,621	1.3	96,751	2.4	2,324
Pangasius djambal	39,206	1.2	109,856	2.7	2,802
Snakeskin gourami	34,481	1.1	35,760	0.9	1,026
Torpedo-shaped catfishes nei	27,325	0.8	50,312	1.2	1,841
Giant river prawn	23,995	0.7	107,828	2.7	4,494
Glass catfishs	23,304	0.7	72,143	1.8	3,096
Climbing perch	22,061	0.7	32,378	1.8	1,468

* Data not available from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam
** Computation of price excludes corresponding quantity production from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam

In 2017, the region’s total production from aquaculture accounted for about 54.8% of the region’s total fishery production in terms of quantity and 42.0% in terms of value. From 2013 to 2017, Southeast Asia’s total production from aquaculture steadily increased at about 4.3% per year (Fig. 4), the highest annual increase of about 7.0% was recorded between 2014 and 2015, which could have been brought about by the sudden rise in the aquaculture production of Myanmar, and Viet Nam during the same period that also continued to increase until 2017. The aquaculture production of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR, had been slightly increasing from 2014 to 2017, while that of the other Southeast Asian countries also continued to increase, except that of Malaysia which had decreased starting in 2014.

For Indonesia as the largest producer of aquaculture products in 2017, production of spiny eucheuma (Eucheuma denticulatum) contributed 58.9% in terms of production quantity and 7.1% in production value to the country’s aquaculture production. This was followed by Nile tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) accounting for 7.9%, torpedo-shaped catfishes (Clarias spp.) at 7.0%, and Gracilaria seaweeds (Gracilaria spp.) at 6.6%. In the case of Viet Nam, as the second highest producer from aquaculture, 70.0% of its aquaculture production came from the group of freshwater fishes (unidentifies species) followed by freshwater prawns which accounted for 19.1% of the country’s aquaculture production.

For the Philippines as the third highest producer from aquaculture, its main aquaculture product is the elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) contributing 59.4% to the country’s production from aquaculture followed by milkfish (Chanos chanos) accounting for 18.4%, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) at 7.4%, and spiny eucheuma (Eucheuma denticulatum) at 3.7%. For Myanmar, its main production from aquaculture is roho labeo (Labeo rohita) which accounted for 61.8% of the country’s production from aquaculture followed by mrigal carp (Cirrhinus mrigala) accounting for 6.9%, catla (Catla catla) accounting for 6.4%, giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) at 5.3%, pangas catfishes nei (Pangasius spp.) at 4.1%, and tilapias (Oreochromis(=Tilapia) spp.) at 3.2%. Thailand’s main aquaculture product is the whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) accounting for 38.7% of the country’s production from aquaculture followed by Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) at 24.4%, hybrid catfishes (C. gariepinus x C. macrophalus) at 11.8%, and green mussel (Perna viridis) at 5.6%.

Fig. 4. Trend of the aquaculture production (MT) of the Southeast Asian countries from 2013 to 2017

In terms of value per quantity of aquaculture production in 2017, Brunei Darussalam attained the highest average value per quantity at US$ 6731/MT followed by Singapore at US$ 5719/MT, Thailand at US$ 3026/MT, Malaysia at US$ 1847MT, Myanmar at US$ 1668/MT, Philippines at US$ 894/MT, and Indonesia at US$ 866/MT. Meanwhile, the value per quantity of aquaculture production of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam in 2017 could not be calculated as these countries did not report their respective total production values.

Aquaculture production comes from three environments, namely: marine, brackishwater, and freshwater. In terms of quantity, aquaculture in marine areas or mariculture provided 47.0% to the region’s total aquaculture production in 2017 while brackishwater aquaculture contributed 15.0%, and the remaining 38.0% came from freshwater culture (Fig. 5). In terms of value, brackishwater aquaculture production contributed the highest at 44.0% followed by freshwater culture production at 42.0% and mariculture production at 14.0%.

Fig. 5 Percentage of aquaculture production by sub-sector in 2017 (left by quantity: right by value)

It should be recalled that in 2016, production from mariculture accounted for 57.0% of the total aquaculture production in terms of quantity, while brackishwater culture production accounted for 9.0% and freshwater culture production at 34.0%. In terms of value, mariculture contributed 24.0% to the region’s total aquaculture production value, brackishwater culture production at 30.0%, and freshwater culture production at 46.0%. This means that in 2017, the production value from brackishwater culture increased by 78.4% from that of 2016 which could be due to the increased production of whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) in Indonesia. While production from mariculture in 2017 compared with that of 2016 decreased by 18.2% which could be due to the decreasing value of the production of Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Philippines, the region’s production value from freshwater culture increased by 11.5%.

Mariculture

In 2017, the region’s total production from mariculture contributed about 47.0% to the region’s total production in terms of quantity and 14.0% in terms of value. Farmed aquatic plants contributed 94.9% to the region’s total quantity of mariculture production, such as the spiny eucheuma (Eucheuma denticulatum), and the elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii). Production of the spiny eucheuma (Eucheuma denticulatum) mainly from Indonesia accounted for 81.8% of the region’s total production quantity from mariculture, followed by the elkhorn sea moss (Kappaphycus alvarezii) the main products of the Philippines which accounted for 13.1%. Moreover, the oysters group of species mainly produced by the Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, contributed 0.9%; green mussels (Perna viridis) mainly produced by Thailand at 0.6%; marine fishes nei at 0.5%; shrimps mainly produced by Myanmar at 0.5%; and blood cockle (Anadara granosa) mainly produced by the Philippines and Thailand at 0.3% (Fig. 6).
In terms of value, the spiny eucheuma (Eucheuma denticulatum) contributed 32.7% to the region’s total mariculture production value followed by shrimps which contributed about 11.8%, oysters at 5.7%, elkhorn sea moss at 5.6%, marine fishes nei at 4.3%, and blood cockle accounted for 3.0% (Fig. 6). Moreover, shrimps earned the highest value per quantity at US$ 6,500/MT followed by marine fishes at US$ 2,430/ MT, and blood cockle at US$ 2400/MT. Meanwhile, the lowest value per quantity was obtained for the spiny eucheuma at US$ 104/MT (Table 9).

Fig. 6 Mariculture production in 2017 by major species (left by quantity; right by value)

Table 9. Major mariculture species produced in the region (as of 2017)

Common name	Quantity (MT)	Percentage production of major commodities from mariculture to total mariculture production (%)	Value (US$ 1,000)	Percentage total value of major commodities production from mariculture to total mariculture value (%)	Price (US$/MT)
Spiny eucheuma	9,572,424	81.8	995,848	32.7	104
Elkhorn sea moss	1,533,256	13.1	169,965	5.6	110
Oysters	106,499	0.9	173,808	5.7	1,632
Green mussel	72,308	0.6	29,391	1.0	406
Fishes	53,379	0.5	129,753	4.3	2,430
Shrimps	55,310	0.5	359,512	11.8	6,499
Blood cockle	38,344	0.5	92,041	3.0	2,400

For the value per quantity of mariculture production in 2017, Brunei Darussalam posted the highest at an average of US$ 7,194/MT from its production of the highly economical species of giant sea perch (Lates calcarifer), followed by Myanmar at US$ 6,432/MT for shrimps, and Singapore at US$ 4,656/MT for its production also of the giant sea perch (Lates calcarifer). Meanwhile, the mariculture production value of Thailand was at US$ 1,275/MT, Philippines at US$ 591/MT, Indonesia at US$ 169/MT, and Malaysia at US$ 137/MT.

Brackishwater Culture

The total production from brackishwater culture in 2017 represented about 15% of the region’s total production from aquaculture (Fig. 7). Production of whiteleg shrimps (Penaeus vannamei) mainly produced by Indonesia and Thailand had the highest quantity representing 30.7% of the region’s total production from brackishwater culture. The second highest was contributed by milkfish (Chanos chanos) at 29.7% mainly produced by Indonesia and the Philippines, and the third came from Gracilaria seaweeds (Gracilaria spp.) at 28.2% mainly contributed by Indonesia. Meanwhile, the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) contributed 5.3% mainly from Indonesia; and giant sea perch (Lates calcarifer) at 1.6% mainly contributed by Malaysia and Thailand; while the group of miscellaneous fishes (unidentified species) also contributed 2.5% . In terms of value, the whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) had the highest, which was provided by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand contributing 60.8%; followed giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) by Indonesia and Thailand contributing the highest value at 14.1%; giant sea perch (Lates calcarifer) at 2.5%; and milkfish (Chanos chanos) from Indonesia and the Philippines at 1.8%; while the group of miscellaneous fishes (unidentified species) contributed 7.9% of the total value.

Fig. 7 Brackishwater culture production in 2017 by species (left by quantity; right by value)

Table 10. Major brackishwater species cultured in the region (as of 2017)

Common name	Quantity (MT)	Percentage brackishwater culture production of major commodities to total brackishwater culture production (%)	Value (US$ 1,000)*	Percentage total value of major commodities production from brackishwater culture to total brackishwater culture value (%)	Price (US$/MT)**
Whiteleg shrimp	1,153,741	30.7	5,605,651	60.8	4,859
Milkfish	1,114,731	29.7	168,639	1.8	151
Gracilaria seaweeds	1,059,204	28.2	86,944	0.9	82
Giant tiger shrimp	197,231	5.3	1,295,868	14.1	6,570
Misc. fishes	92,460	2.5	725,267	7.9	7,844
Giant seaperch	60,367	1.6	230,624	2.5	3,820
Metapenaeus shrimps nei	30,258	0.8	63,746	0.7	2,107

* Data not available from Cambodia and Viet Nam
** Computation of price excludes corresponding quantity production from Cambodia and Viet Nam

In terms of average value per quantity of production from brackishwater culture, considering only the countries that reported their respective production values, Singapore posted the highest at US$ 24,206/MT followed by Brunei Darussalam at US$ 6,572/MT, Malaysia at US$ 5,393/MT, Thailand at US$ 5,007/MT, Indonesia at US$ 2,166/MT, and the Philippines at US$ 1,444/MT. Cambodia and Viet Nam did not report their respective production from brackishwater aquaculture in terms of value. The highest value per quantity of production was attained by the marine fishes (unidentified species) at US$ 7,844/MT followed by giant tiger shrimp at US$ 6,570/MT, whiteleg shrimp at US$ 4,859/MT, giant sea perch at US$ 3,820/MT, Metapenaeus shrimps nei at US$2,107/MT, and milkfish which obtained the lowest value at US$ 151/MT (Table 10).

Freshwater Culture

The region’s total production from freshwater culture in 2017 accounted for about 38.0% of the region’s total production from aquaculture, an increase of about 11.5% from that of the production in 2016. In 2017, Indonesia was the highest producer from freshwater aquaculture contributing about 39.8% of the region’s total production from freshwater culture, followed by Viet Nam at 37.8%, Myanmar at 10.4%, Thailand at 4.4%, Philippines at 3.3%, Cambodia at 2.0%, Lao PDR at 1.2%, and Malaysia at 1.1%.

Accounting for 42.0% of the region’s total aquaculture production value in 2017, the freshwater culture sub-sector seems to have emerged as a very important fisheries sub-sector. This is considering that its production value in 2017 had increased by almost 21.3% compared with that of 2016, although this information could be underestimated due to the missing corresponding production values from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam.

In terms of production quantity from freshwater culture by species (Fig. 8) was reportes as 32.1% of the region’s total production from freshwater culture was reported, miscellaneous freshwater fishes (unidentified species) which was mainly contributed by Viet Nam. This was followed by Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) which accounted for 17.1% and contributed mainly by Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines; and the torpedo-shaped catfishes nei (Clarias spp.) followed at 12.4% which was contributed mainly by Indonesia; freshwater prawns came in next at 8.2% contributed mainly by Viet Nam; roho labeo (Labeo rohita) at 6.9% contributed mainly by Myanmar; pangas catfishes (Pangasius spp.) contributed mainly by Indonesia and Myanmar at 4.2%; common carp (Cyprinus carpio) accounted for 3.6% contributed by Indonesia; snakeheads (Channa spp.) contributed mainly by Indonesia at 3.0%; and giant gourami (Osphronemus goramy) at 2.5% mainly contributed by Indonesia.

On production value, the highest contributor to the region’s total production value from freshwater culture in 2017 was the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) which accounted for 28.5% of the region’s total production from freshwater culture, followed by torpedo-shaped catfishes (20%), roho labeo (8.8%), common carp (7.1%), pangas catfishes at 6.8%, miscellaneous fishes at 6.7%, snakeheads nei (6.3%), giant gourami (6.1%), tilapias (2.8%), freshwater prawns (2.1%), mrigal carp (1.9%), catfishes hybrid (1.5%), and pirapatinga (red-bellied pacu, Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier, 1818)) at 1.2%. For the value per quantity of major freshwater culture species, the highest was earned by the frehwater prawns at US$ 6,735/MT followed by giant gourami at US$ 2,328/MT, mrigal carp at US$ 2,295/MT, snakeheads at US$ 2,003/MT, common carp at US$ 1,854/MT, Nile tilapia at US$ 1,581/MT, pangas catfishes at US$ 1,537/MT, torpedo-shaped catfishes at US$ 1,523/MT, tilapias at US$ 1,400/MT, pirapatinga at US$ 1,372/MT, catfishes hybrid at US$ 1,294/MT, and roho labeo at US$ 1,200/MT (Table 11).

Fig. 8. Production of major freshwater culture species in 2017 (by quantity (left) and value (right))

Furthermore, for the value of production from freshwater culture by country, Brunei Darussalam presented the highest average value per quantity at US$ 8,053/MT mainly coming from its production of the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). This was followed by Singapore at US$ 7,427/MT mainly for its production also of the Mozambique tilapia (O. mossambicus), Malaysia at US$ 1,863/MT also for its production of torpedo-shaped catfishes nei, Indonesia at US$ 1,669/MT, Thailand at US$ 1,609/MT, the Philippines at US$ 1,482/MT, and Myanmar at US$ 1,384/MT.

Table 11. Major freshwater species cultured in the region (as of 2017)

Common name	Quantity (MT)	Percentage freshwater culture production of major commodities to total freshwater culture production (%)	Value (US$ 1,000)*	Percentage total value of major commodities production from freshwater culture to total freshwater culture value (%)	Price (US$/MT)**
Misc. fishes	3,044,652	32.1	23,121	6.7	1,208
Nile tilapia	1,623,391	17.1	2,566,751	28.5	1,581
Torpedo-shaped catfishes	1,179,056	12.4	1,795,940	20.0	1,523
Freshwater prawns	773,395	8.2	189,577	2.1	6,735
Roho labeo	656,609	6.9	788,529	8.8	1,200
Pangas catfishes	396,251	4.2	609,358	6.8	1,537
Common carp	342,461	3.6	635,118	7.1	1,854
Snakeheads	283,439	3.0	567,749	6.3	2,003
Giant gourami	236,126	2.5	549,744	6.1	2,328
Tilapias	180,383	1.9	252,681	2.8	1,400
Catfishes, hybrid	105,144	1.1	136,061	1.5	1,294
Pirapatinga	78,1783	0.8	107,313	1.2	1,372
Migral carp	72,662	0.8	166,807	1.9	2,295

* Data not available from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam
** Computation of price excludes corresponding quantity production from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam

As of 2017, information on the fishing gear used in the region reflected in this Bulletin was based on the production from marine capture fisheries by type of fishing gear as reported by four countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The production from marine capture fisheries of the Southeast Asian region by types of gear is shown in Fig. 9. As the highest producing fishing gear, trawls accounted for about 47.0% of the total production from all types of gears, followed by the purse seines at about 25.8%, gill nets at 13.4%, falling net at 3.8%, lift net at 3.2%, others at 2.2%, hook and lines at 1.5%, traps at 1.3%, seine nets at 1.2%, and push/scoop nets at 0.6%. However, the trend on gear used in marine capture fisheries could not be appropriately analyzed as several countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Viet Nam were not able to provide the relevant information.

Fig. 9. Marine capture fishery production by type of gear used in 2017

From such information, the highest production by type of gears in Brunei Darussalam was from gill nets which accounted for about 60.1% of the total production of all types of gears, with banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis) and yellowtail scad (Atule mate) as the main catch. This was followed by hook and lines at 12.5% catching yellowtail scad (Atule mate), trawl at 11.6% catching threadifn breams nei (Nemipterus spp.) as the main catch that comprised almost all of the commodities produced.

For Malaysia, trawls were very prominent with total catch that accounted for 48.6% of the country’s production from all types of gears, of which trash fishes comprised 30.4% of the trawl’s total production. This was followed by purse seines contributing about 20.6% to the total production from all types of gears, where scads nei (Decapterus spp.) comprised 23.1% of the total production from purse seines. Gill net came third contributing 19.5% to the production from all types of gears, where the Indian mackerels (Rastrelliger spp.) accounted for about 25.0% of the total production from gill nets.
For Thailand, trawls gave the highest production by type of gears for about 30.9% producing mainly trash fishes that represented about 42.0%, marine fishes (unidentified species) about 9.5%, common squids (Loligo spp.) about 7.1%, and threadfin breams (Nemipterus spp.) about 4.5%. Purse seines came in second contributing 31.0% to the production from all types of gears catching jacks, crevalles nei (Caranx spp.) representing about 14.6%, scads nei (Decapterus spp.) about 12.7%, Sardinellas nei (Sardinella spp.) about 12.5%, and the Stolephorus anchovies (Stolephorus spp.) about 11.7%.

In the case of Singapore, trawls gave the highest production by type of gears for nearly 100.0% with penaeid shrimps (Penaeus spp.) accounting for about 19.9%, stingrays (Dasyatis spp.) about 5.6%, sea catfishes about 4.9%, croakers (Pennahia spp.)about 4.7%.

This report covers only the boats that have been registered in each country of Southeast Asia, except for Cambodia and Lao PDR which did not report their respective number of registered fishing boats in 2017. Based on the data available as of 2017, Indonesia had the highest number of boats at 543,845 of which 190,923 were non-powered while 352,922 were powered boats; followed by Malaysia with 52,648 boats of which 10,704 were non-powered while 19,180 were powered boats. The third highest number was Viet Nam with 32,878 boats, followed by Myanmar with 29,884 boats, Thailand with 10,913 boats, Brunei Darussalam with 1,415 boats, Philippines with 1,025 boats, and Singapore with 32 boats.

In 2017, Indonesia had the highest number of fishers at 733,783 of which 49.5% were involved in aquaculture, 43.8% were involved in marine capture fisheries, and 6.7% in inland capture fisheries. Malaysia had the second highest number of fishers at 153,573 with 85.1% in marine capture fisheries, 3.3% in inland capture fisheries, and 11.6% in the aquaculture sector (Fig 10). Although minimal, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam also reported their respective numbers of fishers but Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam were not able to provide the information on their respective numbers of fishers.

Fig 10. Number of fishers by working status in 2017

Efforts to improve data availability and statistics in support of all efforts to compile the data and information should therefore be intensified by encouraging the countries to enhance the reporting of fishers and fish farmers engaged in small-scale fisheries operations through the conduct of census and surveys using questionnaires. This would enable the countries to compile the necessary data and information on fisheries including the number of fishers and fish farmers as well as on the number of fishing vessels and gear used.

In 2017, only three countries reported their respective production from aquaculture of ornamental fishes: Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. The Philippines reported the highest production comprising mainly the common carp (Cyprinus carpio), molly (Poecilia reticulate), goldfish (Carassius auratus), platy (Xiphophorus maculatus), guppy (Poecilia reticulata), swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii), striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), and zebra danio (Danio rerio). Malaysia also reported its production of ornamental fishes which comprise mainly the group of poecilids, cyprinidae, anabantids, characins, callichthyids, and cichilds, Singapore did not report its production by species.

In terms of value, the highest was posted by the cichlid (Cichlosoma spp.) at US$ 7.6/pc followed by tricolor sharkminnow (Balantiocheilos malanopterus) at US$ 3.5/pc, Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) at US$ 1.4/pc, bumblebee cichlid (Pseudotropheus crabro) at US$ 0.5/pc, and neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) at US$ 0.5/pc. Malaysia reported that the highest value that the country obtained was for the osteoglossids at US$ 26.6/pc, followed by cypinodontids at US$ 1.4/pc, chichlids at US$ 0.4/pc, anabantids at US$ 0.3/ pc, and cyprinidaes at US$ 0.3/pc. In order to have a better picture of the ornamental fish culture industry in Southeast Asia, efforts will be made to improve the compilation of data from this sub-sector considering that this is a budding industry in the region.

The need to collect information on the quantity of seeds produced from the aquaculture industry was recommended in many fora as this factor has a significant role to play in enhancing the economic analysis of the region’s aquaculture industry. Thus, compilation of the said information was initiated by SEAFDEC in 2008 although at that time only four countries responded and provided the relevant information, i.e. Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Singapore. Brunei Darussalam started to provide the necessary information in 2009, and every year thereafter until 2017 except in 2010. Cambodia started providing the necessary data in 2008 and in 2009, but did not provide the data for 2010 to 2014. Cambodia again provided the data for 2015 and 2016, but not for 2017. Indonesia started to provide the necessary data in 2010 and continued until 2014, but no data were provided for 2015 until 2017. Malaysia started providing the data in 2008, and every year thereafter until this current issue of the Bulletin. Myanmar started to provide the necessary data in 2008, and every year thereafter until 2014. Although Myanmar did not provide data for 2015 and 2016, the country provided the data for this current issue of the Bulletin. Singapore started to provide the necessary data in 2008 and every year thereafter until this issue of the Bulletin, except in 2014. For the subsequent issues of this Bulletin, efforts will be exerted to gather the said information from all the Southeast Asian countries, i.e. Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam which will be encouraged to provide the data. Once all Southeast Asian countries are able to provide the necessary data, the true picture of this significant niche of the aquaculture industry could be established.

Although the commodities being harvested by the Southeast Asian countries through capture fisheries varied, the trend of the producer prices was established only for certain species which are commonly caught. Results of the analysis however indicated that the producer prices of several commodities harvested by the countries differ in each country, considering that fish prices are influenced by such factors as demand and supply, as well as the cost of production including feeds and transportation, and alternative commodities. For this current issue of the Bulletin, seven Southeast Asian countries provided the necessary data related to producer prices of commodities from capture fisheries. These are: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Efforts would be intensified to also obtain the relevant data from the other Southeast Asian countries in order to complete the Southeast Asian scenario in the future issues of the Bulletin, especially with respect to producer prices.

Meanwhile, the producer price situation in 2017 for certain economically important species of Southeast Asia shows that for inland fish species, the producer price of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), in Malaysia was recorded at US$ 1.93/kg while it was US$ 0.43/kg in Myanmar. For the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), the producer price in Brunei Darussalam was US$ 4.74/kg compared to Thailand’s US$ 1.47/kg. For torpedo-shaped catfishes nei (Clarias spp.) was US$ 4.38/kg compared to Myanmar’s US$ 0.46/kg. For freshwater prawns (Palaemonidae), the producer price in Thailand was quite high at US$ 26.52/kg.

For marine fish species, the producer price of milkfish (Chanos chanos) in Brunei Darussalam was US$ 5.84/kg compared to Indonesia’s US$ 1.27/kg. Barramundi or giant sea perch (Lates calcarifer) in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore were US$ 7.30/kg and US$ 7.28/kg, respectively, compared to Myanmar’s US$ 0.33/kg. Grouper nei, Epinephelus spp. in Thailand cost US$ 10.61/kg compared to US$ 4.25/kg in the Philippines, while threadfins and tasselfishes nei (Polynemidae), the producer price in Singapore was US$ 15.64/kg compared to US$ 3.54/kg in Thailand. Likewise, for silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus), the producer price in Thailand was quite high at US$ 17.68/kg.

The producer price of the jacks, crevalles nei (Caranx spp.) in Brunei Darussalam was highest at US$ 7.30/ kg while the lowest was in the Philippines at US$ 2.31/kg. For the Indian mackerel nei (Rastrelliger spp.), the producer price in Singapore was US$ 4.15/kg while the lowest price was US$ 2.24/kg in Thailand or an average price of US$ 3.19/kg.

For the western king prawn (Penaeus latisulcatus), the highest producer price was in Thailand at US$ 7.37/kg while the lowest was US$ 1.66/kg in Malaysia. For the Indo-Pacific swamp crab (Scylla serrata), the highest price was in Singapore at US$ 11.46/kg and the lowest was in Malaysia at US$ 4.21/kg for an average of US$ 7.68/kg. As could be gleaned from the abovementioned information, the trends of the producer prices of the same commodities from among the countries in the region had generally wide variations.